Gospel
reading: Mark 14:12-21
12 And on the first day of
Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb , his
disciples said to him, "Where will you have us
go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?" 13
And he sent two of his disciples, and said to
them, "Go into the city, and a man carrying a
jar of water will meet you; follow him, 14 and
wherever he enters, say to the householder, `The
Teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I am
to eat the Passover with my disciples?' 15 And
he will show you a large upper room furnished
and ready; there prepare for us." 16 And the
disciples set out and went to the city, and
found it as he had told them; and they prepared
the Passover. 17 And when it was evening he came
with the twelve. 18 And as they were at table
eating, Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, one of
you will betray me, one who is eating with me."
19 They began to be sorrowful, and to say to him
one after another, "Is it I?" 20 He said to
them, "It is one of the twelve, one who is
dipping bread into the dish with me. 21 For the
Son of man goes as it is written of him, but woe
to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed!
It would have been better
for that man if he had not been born."
Meditation: Do you
celebrate the Passover with sincerity and truth
(see 1 Cor. 5:7-8)? Every male Jew, who
was of age and lived within 15 miles of
Jerusalem, was bound to celebrate Passover every
year in Jerusalem. This annual feast
commemorated the deliverance of the people of
Israel from their slavery in Egypt (see Exodus
12). On that night the angel of death slew
the first-born of the Egyptians; but he "passed
over" the homes of the Israelites, because the
lintel of their doors was smeared with the blood
of an unblemished lamb sacrificed for the
occasion. It was at Passover time that
Jesus came to Jerusalem knowing he would be
betrayed and put to death as the "Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world" (John
1:29). Jesus fulfilled the Passover. His
death and resurrection, which occured at
Passover time, redeems us from enslavement to
sin, death, Satan, and the world. His
blood, like the blood of the first Passover
lamb, protects God's people from the angel of
death and breaks the oppressive rule of Satan.
Easter is the Christian
Passover (1 Cor. 5:7-8).
As Jesus ate the Passover
meal with his twelve apostles he put them under
trial and suspicion ("one of you will betray
me") to teach them to examine themselves
rightly, lest they be highminded and think
themselves more strong than they were. We, also
must examine ourselves in the light of God's
truth and grace and ask him to strengthen us in
faith, hope, and love that we may not fail him
or forsake him when we are tempted. Do you pray
with confidence in the words Jesus gave us to
pray:
Do not lead us into temptation, but
deliver us from evil?
Why did Judas betray his
Master? Was his treachery motivated by greed,
bitter disappointment with Jesus or hatred
because of disillusionment? It may be that
Judas never intended for his Master to
die. Maybe he thought Jesus was proceeding
too slowly and not acting aggressively enough in
setting up his messianic kingdom. Perhaps
Judas wanted to force Jesus' hand by compelling
him to act. Nonetheless, his tragedy was
his refusal to accept Jesus as he was.
Aren't we tempted to use God for our own
purposes? It is not God who must change, but we
must be changed by him. Jesus knew
beforehand what would befall him. Just as
God can use any individual as his instrument, so
can Satan, his arch-enemy and our
adversary. We can either be an instrument
of good or of evil, and a servant of God or of
Satan. The choice is ours.
Who has free entrance into
the door of your life?
"God our Father, we
are exceedingly frail and indisposed to every
virtuous and gallant undertaking.
Strengthen our weakness, we beseech you, that we
may do valiantly in this spiritual war; help us
against our own negligence and cowardice, and
defend us from the treachery of our unfaithful
hearts; for Jesus Christ's sake."
